Unaccustomed Earth is a collection of eight short tales about family life and individual self-discovery. Although Lahiri focuses more on the lives of Bengali-American families, the stories in this collection express a vivid description of human emotions and lives. Set mostly in the 1980s, the stories also bring out the clash of cultures and expectations in those days. It's the phase when America was still developing and India was a place to escape from. The stories are divided into two sections. The first section contains five distinct short stories. The second part of the book contains three interconnected stories involving two characters, Hema and Kaushik at different stages of their lives. With this book Lahiri shows her masterly skills in short story art form and its language. A compelling and emotionally provoking set of short stories.